1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to ammonia synthesis apparatus and process for synthesizing ammonia from water and air.
2. Description of the Related Art
About one hundred years ago, German chemists, Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch, developed a chemical process for the synthesis of ammonia and succeeded in mass production of ammonia for the first time. The Haber-Bosch process, which is represented by a reaction as follows: N2+3H2→3NH3 (about 400° C.), is advantageous in its easiness and relatively high efficiency, and is still used now without being basically changed.
Hydrogen used for the synthesis of ammonia is obtained from natural gas containing methane (CH4) as a main component. It has also been proposed to obtain hydrogen for the synthesis of ammonia, through electrolysis of water. Furthermore, it has been contemplated to react metal or metal oxide with water, for production of hydrogen, as described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2007-112672 (JP-A-2007-112672), Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-322301 (JP-A-11-322301), and Kodama, T., Gokon, N., 2007, “Thermochemical Cycles for High-Temperature Solar Hydrogen Production”, Chemical Reviews, 107, 4048-4077.